So I have to apologize. I have been away from the ol’ blog for a while. But you cannot hold it against me, thing in my life have changed. Lots of stuff has happened. Lots of stuff, I swear!!!

Most importantly. I have been asked back to work a CONAN for a few more weeks. Which is AWESOME. This means I get to stay on as an intern for a while longer. I am so

Basic Cable Interns work hard and play nicely.

happy and excited and relieved that April didn’t end my run at the best job on earth. Looks like I’ll get to be a Basic Cable Intern a while longer yet.

Pretty much more importantly/DEFINITELY more importantly: I was within INCHES of Tina Fey. My Idol. My Role Model. The one person I can look to and say, “SEE!? I WANNA DO LIKE THAT!” But due to the poor grammar and vague pronouns, few people can really decipher what I mean. Basically, she came to the show my last week before my break and I got to see/kind meet her (She totally said, “Bye! Thanks for having me!” to me- no bigs) I mean, we’re basically best friends for ever now. But , seriously, EXTREMELY AWESOME. It was the best moment ever. She was incredible. I also was lucky enough to meet Tim Meadows, a former SNLer also, so once again the Green Room turned into a Saturday Night Live mini-reunion. **Editors note: if you haven’t read Tina Fey’s Bossypants yet, stop reading this, turn off the computer, drive to a book store, get a copy, and read it. It is amazing. When finished reading please, come back to this blog post.

That was really the most important thing that happened in the last week or so. At the show, I also got to pet a Shetland Pony, which are these miniature horses. They look fake and because they are so tiny, everything they do looks hilarious. Also, I had a lovely evening with Aaron and Kate McLane and Andy, Mel and Bell Curtis, grilling out and relaxing before I left for home. There were also a lot of “see you later-s” the next evening after work when a bunch of us Interns went out for some TACOS. Good times were had by all I believe. At least, I know I had a good time and in the end, isn’t that all that really matters?

So Friday morning I gathered my things (ok, so I had been mostly packed since like Tuesday but whatever) and Tracy drove me to the airport. Yes, it was time for my triumphant return home. Now, I had not flown since my senior year in high school (four years ago) and I had never flown by myself (not THAT big of a deal, but it was the first time not having someone else tell me where to go) Needless to say, I was a little on edge. Oh, and I don’t like flying. No matter HOW many laws of physics you are following perfectly, I am just not a fan of the notion that a several-ton metal tube is rocketing hundreds of miles an hour, thousands of feet above the earth. I cannot get over it. I had to distract myself.

My flight took me from LAX to Phoenix airport to Indy. I took a window seat on both planes just behind the right side wing. I am a creature of habit and therefore sat in basically the same spot twice. While sitting there waiting for our plane to taxi and eventually take off, I was distracted from my nerves by the wing. It was so dirty. All I could think about was cleaning that wing, getting all the little crevices with a toothbrush and dishwashing soap. I knew I could clean it so effectively an efficiently. I gazed at the wing for minutes. Suddenly I snapped out of it, when I realized I was indeed my mother’s daughter.

As the plane took off I chewed furiously at gum to avoid popping my ears and looked out the window. The rattle of the plane and feeling the G-forces working to give the plane enough lift, caused my heart rate to spike a little. Before I knew it, I was ascending to the sky from LAX en route east to Phoenix. As I peered out my window- torturing myself by staring into the increasing altitude we were achieving- I realize we were no longer flying over land, but rather the ocean. My mind began racing: “Am I on the right flight?” “Do they know which way Phoenix is?” “Should I go tell the pilot we need to stop, land, and that I’d just drive back to Indy?” I remained silent as most of my questions were answered as we turned sharply to get back over land, due east. Apparently all flights from LAX take off toward the ocean. No wonder the flight attendants told us about the flotation devices stowed under our seats.

The rest of the flight was pretty lackluster until we arrived in Phoenix. It was 85* outside when we landed, luckily I was in the air conditioning. I had about a 40 minute wait until my flight to Indy so I explored the airport a bit (PHX is superior to LAX- the PHX bathrooms have automatic sinks- none of that “push” baloney) and I watched from the terminal as my checked bag was loaded into our plane.

The fight to Indy took about three hours and was for the most part enjoyable. I had no one in the seats next to me, no one in the row in front of me, and no one adjacent to me. I had my own little bubble. I happily read Bossypants and laughed out loud several times. About two hours into our trek we hit some rough weather. There was lighting around us and we experienced a good deal of turbulence. The flight attendants seemed calm and I did a good deal of talking myself into being calm. After a few more minutes of the turbulence, a voice came over the PA and began to sing: “Sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip. That started with a fishing tour upon this tiny ship” Yes. The Captian of the plane began to sing the theme song to Gillian’s Island. He changed several of the lyrics to better suit a plane and our situation. When he finished most of the cabin burst into laughter. I sat there, horrified, mouth agape, refusing to be contented by his little stunt. I then began counting the minutes until we touched down. Soon we reached Indy and I had never seen a more beautiful sight. My parents, Pete, Tom and Kevin were all at the airport waiting to greet me. It was fabulous.

Well I could not be happier to be back with my family and back home again in Indiana. I will be back in LA soon though, relaxed and ready to go on another great bout as a Basic Cable Intern at CONAN. Before I head back, I will be graduating from Indiana University. I could not be more exicted. I’ve had an amazing college experience but I am ready for the next thing- what that is, I do not know yet, but it will be awesome.

Until next time!

CALIFORNIA IS DIFFERENT:

25) In California every women’s restroom (I can’t speak for the men’s) has seat covers. Either they are overall more concerned with bathroom hygiene than Indiana is, or there are WAY higher risks of getting “booty diseases” out there.

26) In line with #25 and possibly disproving the theory that Califronia is concerned with Bathroom Hygiene: Dogs are allowed to roam free in Airport restrooms. WHAT!?!?! I do NOT want your dog- no matter how bite-sized it may be, roaming around in a PUBLIC restroom. SERIOUSLY! NOT COOL.